Mast head



Jan. 9, 1940.

Ori

nlllul lli"N w. J. EDWARDS ginal Filed Jan. Al0, 1931 j. 'E Z INVENTOR.

A TTORNEY.

*sans l kUNIT rarer oFFicE.

MAST HEAD Wiliam reim Edwards, Wanita Fausmex. 1 Reiled for abandonedapplication *"Serial No.

507,909, .lanuary 1t), 193i. `This application May it, i937, Serial No.143,394

s domed application, Serial No. 587,909, filed January l0, 193i'. i

invention relates to improvements in :roast heads that are used inconnection with masts of well drilling equipment. y, v

The primary object of this invention'is to provide for alignment ofdepending operating elements from sheaves'of mast head approximatelyover the .center of the well.' l

Another object of this invention toarrange the sheaves so that eitherdrilling, hailing, or the use oi' the casing block `maybe accomplishedwithout the necessity of using an vauxiliary shear pole or mast.-

An important feature oi this invention is the provision of a mast headhaving a shaft upon which a majority oi the sheaves are carried, and theends ofy Whichrest directly on the upper ends of the supporting poles.Another `feature of this invention is,` the provision oi ar secondaryshaft above and slightly to the fore ofthe primary shaft.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of clampingcrown block castingwhich may be quickly adjusted to the casing carryinga multiplicity of sheaves and pulleys over which cables may be passed inmuch the same manner as may be done with the yordinary derrickconstruction, yet with only a portion of the attendant expense necessaryin providing the conventional type of derrick which requires fouruprights aswell as many braces and struts,.re quiring considerablemanual' labor in itserection. f

Still another object or the invention resides in the manner in which itmay be'adapted to use in connection with a conventional type of carryonly the crown block yand base castings on spudding machine, replacingthe ordinary lmast which is carried bythe machine, making it morecumbersome and unwieldy, yit necessary to block y 5 claim; (o1. .2M- rawlThis application Iis a "bsti'tute for prior aban-` tionalspuddingmachine, showing the `invention attached, also' showing the portionofthe in-l vention as used as'a derrick, and illustrating a inodiiedform ci crown block assembly? Fig. 4 is right side elevation o f thecrown assembly shown `in Fig. 3, having portionsA out away andinsect-ion showing ythe shock ab-` sorbing means thereof; and

Fig. 5 is a detail View of the coupling clamp attached to sections ofthe'casng portions o which clamp cut away to show the mannerv which. itapplied to the casing sections.

While many unsuccessful attempts have been made todepart from theordinaryv type of derrich, the present linvention is believed to beacomplete departure, from the common ktype of oil field drilling rig inthat it Will not only save the operator considerable expense in materialas well as in transportation and labor, but Will also consume lessspacethan the ordinary derrick. A' derrick of the type hereindescribed may.be assembled and raised by only fa lportion of the crew ordinarilyrequired for the `erection of the conventional type of derrick. 4

las will be presentlybroughtvout in the following description thepresentinvention, unlike the ordinary derrick ci the demountable type, the

'sheaves can be arranged directly'ab'ove the point of' operation,allowing a straight, unhampered operation of the lines' into the Well.The casing or traveling block when in operating `position also will hangapproximately over the center of the well.` Y

Proceeding nov/.with the description, l is a timber upon'vwhich isbolted hinged basel castings 2, each oiwhoh castings hasacollar-integral therewith into Whicha section of casing i is inserted,as shown in Fig. 3, which latter 'may liehorizontally upon the ground byvirtue ci the hinge arrangement at a whereupon other sectionr be' addedby use of a clamp fl, which v is illustratedin Fig. 5.`

The clamp ,d isin two sections hinged together' at l; to expedite itsapplicationr to the vcasing sections 3, and said clamp sections haveanges 5, one of which Vis provided with elongated apertures Ei, havingbolts l pivoted 'therein for insertion 'into slots 3 of the othersection, whereupon the nuts upon the bolts 'I may be screwed down,securing the clamp upon the ends ofthe casing sections t, as shown'inFig. 5. The clamps l are held against displacement upon the joints 'bymeans of a boss El which is providedy midway of the ends of lthe vclampsections yIl, against which boss the ends of the casing sections 3 abutwhile in an upright position in the manner shown in Fig. 3. Furthermeans for preventing the displacement of the clamp 4 is provided in theform of set screws c which engage the casing sections.

Right and left hand crown block castings I are provided with cup-shapedportions or collars for attachment to the uppermost ends of the casingsections 3 to carry sheaves II, as shown in Figs. land 2. Thesecastings, as will be seen particularly in Fig. 2, are provided withgrooved bearing plates or clamps I2 in which a shaft I3 is secured andupon which the sheaves II rotate. The shaft I3 is provided with groovesI4 adjacent its ends which grooves receive annular bosses (not shown) inthe castings it, which arrangement prevents endwise .movement of theshaft I3.

A shield I5, supported by standards IS, is provided to overhang thesheaves Il, in the manner shown in Figs. l and 2. to prevent the cablesfrom becoming displaced from the respective sheaves II when the latterare in operation. The castings I0 are secured against displacement fromthe upper ends of the casing sections 3 by means of set screws d whichprotrude through the castings I and which are adapted to ybe threadedagainst the pipe sections 3. The castings I D are also provided withears Il to which guy wires 33 may be attached to support the structurein a vertical position.

Referring now to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the invention may bereadily attached, and used in connection with a conventional type ofspudding machine I8 by placing the base castings 2 upon a timber I9, thelatter being secured to the spudding machine I8, and the pipesections 3joined together by clamps 4, in the same manner as when the structure isused for a derrick.

Fig. 4 illustrates a preferred form of crown block castings andcomprises sleeves into which the pipe sections 3 are inserted to besecured within said sleeve 20 by means of bolts inserted throughprojections 2I which, when tightened, will hold the sleeve 20 securelyupon the ends of the pipe sections 3. The casting I0 is placed over thesleeve 20 and secured thereto by means of bolts 22 which latter' extendthrough a cylindrical cushion 23, of rubber or other flexible material,Vand the top of the sleeve 2l, to pass through compression springs 2lisleeved thereon between nuts on the bolts and the top of the sleeve 2lwhich springs 24, together with the cushion 23, provide a shockabsorbing medium for the crown block assembly when extreme weight isplaced thereon, and to relieve the strain upon the wire lines and cablesthereby preventing possible breakage of the parts.

The latter form of crown block assembly, illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4,is constructed, insofar as the bearing arrangement is concerned, in muchthe same manner as the structure shown in Figs. l and 2. rljhe shaft I3is secured against end movement or displacement by means of the coactinggrooves and bosses, as previously pointed out. It will be seen, however,that various sizes of sheaves are provided in this form of theinvention, the arrangement of which may be changed, when it is desiredto do so to suit the conditions under which the device is to be used.

Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate an arrangement whereby a large sheave 25 ismounted between smaller sheavesI I. An auxiliary shaft 2S is mounted incastings 2l, which latter form the upper portion of the bearings inwhich the shaft I3 rotates and extend upward, curving slightly forwardat their upper ends, as shown in Fig. 4, to offset the shaft 2B withrespect to the shaft I3 so that the sheave 28, which is mounted for freerotation upon the shaft 26, will extend forward sufficiently to allowthe cable 29, when the latter extends downward, to clear the sheaves IIand other parts of the structure and allow free movement of the linesinto the well. As indicated in Fig. 3, the sheave 28 may be slidlengthwise on the shaft 26 to be operated on either side of the largesheave 25 which arrangement will enable the operator to arrange hiscables where they will not interfere with each other in operation.

It is pointed out that an arrangement of braces 3D, such as that shownin Fig. 3, may be provided to brace and support the pipe sections 3 andprevent their spreading. These braces 3C are secured to collars 3| attheir lower ends and to ears 32 which are cast integral with sleeves 20.

In operation, the invention may be constructed, as pointed out in theforegoing, by assembling the pipe sections 3 upon the ground, whereuponthe clamps 4 are secured at the joints of the casing sections 3 andbolted in place. As previously stated, these clamps, one-half of eachbeing provided with elongated apertures 5 to allow the bolts freemovement therein, the other half or each being slotted, permitting theoperator to slip the bolts 1, which already have nuts thereon, into theslots 8 Without having to remove the nuts. This arrangement provides aquicker and cheaper method of connecting the sections 3 together withoutthe use of pipe threaders and collars.

When a sufficient number of the sections 3 have been connected togetherto secure the desired height, the castings I!) are placed upon the endsof the sections 3 which are to be uppermost when the device is raised,and secured thereon by means of the set screws d whereupon the shaft I3,upon which the sheaves I I are mounted, is placed in the clamps I2, theunder portions of which bearings are cast integral with the castings Illwhile a cap i211 is bolted thereon as illustrated in Figs. l and 2..

After' the structure has been assembled, it may be raised to an uprightposition by means of cables, or the like, and guy wires 33 are securedto the ears I'I to hold the structure in an operative position.

The five sheaves it and that are arranged on the single large shaft I3,are the ones that have to withstand the heavy load and the severeshocks, and inasmuch as they center directly over the center of the mastpoles the shock is transmitted directly to the base of the mast withoutdeflecting the mast either way. The large drilling sheave 25 in thecenter of the lower shaft I3 has the line of the tools passing thereoverand therefore receives the shock of the tools with each stroke, whilethe sheaves l l carry the casing sections for the well.

The sand line sheave 28 that is disposed on the secondary shaft 26,above the five sheaves. carries only a light load of the bailer:consequently. its being slightly oir center causes no undue strain onthe mast. The face of the drilling sheave and the face of the sand linesheave center approximately over the well, as the bailer and drillingtools are used constantly.

With further reference to Figs. 3 and fi, wherein several sheaves areused. of varying sizes. it is obvious that unless some means be providedto prevent it, the cables are likely to become displaced from thegrooves in the sheaves II and 25, and, therefore, plates 34 are arrangedbetween each of the sheaves, as shown in. Figs. 3 and 4, to provide anindividual compartment in which the sheaves operate.

It will be evident that the mast poles or shear poles 3 are arranged ina pair with a mast head supported thereon in bridging relationtherebetween, said mast head comprising the clamps lil and theirstructures which support the shafts extending therebetween forsupporting the sheaves.

It is to be understood that when that form of the invention, illustratedin Fig. 4, is used as a mast for a spudding machine, the crown blockassembly shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is not necessary although, at times, maybe desirablel and, while the two forms are shown together in Fig. `3,only that shown attached to the spudding machine it is required toreplace the conventional mast.

The invention has been fully described heretofore, and reference hasbeen made to the use of oil well casing, but it is to be understood thatwhile casing may be convenient or preferred, any type of posts may beused, such as beams, timbers, or tubular posts, the tubular constructionbeing preferred.

'I'hough the invention. has been described with great particularity, thedetails of the embodiment of the invention herein shown are not to beconstrued as being limited thereto, as changes in arrangement andsubstitution of equivalents may be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the invention as dened in the ap pended claims. f

I claim:

l. A crown block including a pair of caps, a flexible cushion mountedupon each of said caps, a cylindrical casting conformably receiving saidcaps and cushions, bearings mounted upon said castings and carrying ashaft, a series of sheaves mounted upon said shaft, standards supportedupon said bearings whose upper ends are offset relative to the axis ofsaid shaft, a shaft carried by the upper ends of said Standards, asheave mounted upon the last-mentioned shaft, and

means carried by said caps and cylindrical castings to lend to theflexibility of said cushions.

2. A mast comprising a mast head having a transverse shaft carrying oneor more sheaves, a support for each end portion of said shaft includinga block of non-metallic resilient material, a cap seated upon saidresilient material and having a bearing for the shaft, and resilientrebound means connected with the cap.

3.4 A` shear pole head comprising companion collar members receiving theends of shear poles and having grooved bearing plates, a pair of arcuatemembers having bearing plates comple,

mentary to the plates of said `collar members and disposed on the latterto embracea shaft disposed in the grooves of said plates, said arcuatemembers likewise cooperating to support a sec-` ond shaft whose axis isdisposed above and forwardly of said first shaft.

4. In a mast, a pair of mast poles, cup-shaped caps telescoped upon theupper ends thereof, each of said cup-shaped caps having a block thereonwith a groove therein, a transverse shaft seated in said grooves, aplurality of sheaves mounted upon said shaft, means of securing said'shaft of the nrst-rnentioned shaft and carrying one or more sheavesthereon and forwardly etu'ved pedestals seated upon the blocks andcarrying said second shaft. v

5. A shear pole head for Well drilling and spudding machines comprisingcollars adapted to be mounted on shear poles, grooved bearing platescarried b-y the collars, a body having upper .and lower portions withlthe lower portion there of superposed over each bearing plate,saidbearing plate and body being supported on each collar, a shaft journaledin bearings providedy by the grooves of the bearing plates, a series ofcasing sheaves on said shaft, and a second shaft mounted on the upperportion of said body above the first-mentioned shaft, and a sand linesheave mounted on said second shaft.

kWILLIAM JOHN EDWARDS.

